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WHAT DOES THE LORD REQUIRE OF YOU? |
 And what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?”- Micah 6:8. A similar list is found in the gospel of Matthew 23:23 (NIV) “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former.
Justice addresses the systemic problems that create these injustices, the systems, not the victims. It is not the same as mercy and the distinction is important. For example, a mercy response to homelessness involves food programs and shelters. A justice response takes action to address the underlying questions: Why are there so many homeless people in our community? Why are many families unable to afford a decent place to live? Why are so many people with mental health problems ending up on the streets? Mercy helps individuals, justice holds systems accountable. When this distinction is understood, the failure to do justice appears obvious. And, there is a good reason for this: none of us, on our own, have enough power to do it successfully. This power can come from two sources: organized people and organized money. We don’t have the money that major economic and political systems possess, so we must organize large numbers of people to "do justice".The fifth chapter of Nehemiah is a great example of God’s people organizing in large numbers to do justice. Mercy seeks to help individual survivors of injustice. It helps individuals with immediate needs and includes programs like tutoring, food pantries, counseling, etc.
Faithfulness includes those things that encourage us to be faithful to God such as worship, studies, prayer, etc. |
